The present invention relates generally to toll fee tracking systems and methods and, more particularly, but not by way of limitation, to toll fee tracking systems and methods for automatic, non-contact, high-speed toll fee tracking and payment of vehicular tolls using automated vehicle identification (AVI) techniques such as Video, GPS, DSRC, RFID, etc.
History of Related Art
The crowding of highways within metropolitan areas has resulted in the development of additional traffic arteries known as toll roads. Toll roads have become increasingly popular, however, they require the payment of a toll fee for use by vehicular occupants. The collection of tolls by conventional means has had a negative effect upon highway throughput and safety. Congestion and long backups on toll plazas are becoming more common. Such conditions involve a significant economic cost, through lost time and reduced productivity. Moreover, serious accidents at toll plazas, caused by operators or mechanical failures, have also increased in frequency.
Today, those individuals who frequently use toll roads are now prone to the purchase of toll fee tracking device. The toll fee tracking device allows the vehicular occupant to bypass the cash only toll gate and, in many instances, the vehicle can maintain its normal speed as it traverses the toll gate wherein the passage of the toll fee tracking device is recorded. The popularity of the toll fee tracking device has expanded to the point that the normal user of the toll fee tracking device can be frustrated by the lines at toll gates when the toll fee tracking device is not available. Unavailability of a toll fee tracking device can be for numerous reasons, not the least of which is the use of rental cars.
One of the major issues with rental cars or third party operated vehicles is maintaining and managing a large population of vehicles with the toll fee tracking devices attached to such vehicles. As a result, toll authorities have initiated a program utilizing Violation Enforcement Systems (VES) to capture toll usage from third party operated vehicles. The VES utilizes the video toll technology (VTOLLS). While capturing video tolls (VTOLLS) using VES helps to minimize violations, the VES system fails to improve the overall revenues of the toll authority. Using VES to capture toll usage from third party operated vehicles reduces the amount of lost revenue capture by toll authorities. However, Toll Authorities are still losing significant amount of revenues when VES don't capture a valid license plate string whether that be from weather conditions, visibility conditions, damaged license plates, unreadable licenses plates or a multitude of other reasons that prohibit the capturing of a valid license plate to therefore bill the toll violator. These toll violators include both 3rd party operated vehicles such as rental cars, but the majority of toll violators are local vehicle owners.
The toll fee tracking devices using RFID technology have a capture rate of around 90%-99% of the actual tolls and are an efficient means for capturing revenue for toll authorities. On the contrary, VES system capturing revenue for toll authority is much less effective. As a result, utilizing VES systems to capture toll usage from third party operated vehicles and local vehicles significantly reduce the toll authority revenue. The reason for the low efficiency rate in the capture of VTOLLS is due to several factors which may be, for example, dirt, grime, mud, snow, ice on license plates. Other factors may also aid to the low efficiency rate in the capture of VTOLLS such as, for example, damaged license plates.
Therefore, there is a need for a method and system for capturing a greater percentage of uncaptured tolls to improve the overall revenues of the toll authority.